Nokia 6.1 Plus Review: A 'notch' above others

Top Features

* Attractive design* Decent performance* Overall value for money

Few months ago, in an interview with HMD’s global head of portfolio, Pranav Shroff made it loud and clear that the Finnish handset maker’s 2018 aim was to expand its portfolio across different price segments. Staying true to its words, the company did make it happen as it took the wraps off Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 8110 4G, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6 (2018), Nokia 2.1, Nokia 5.1 and Nokia 3.1 within eight months. But of course we’re still left with four more months until 2019 and it looks like HMD Global is using them to the fullest. We’re talking about the launch of Nokia 6.1 Plus, which is not just the global version of the Nokia X6 but is also the company’s first to sport the controversial ‘notch’. Like others, this too falls in the Android One initiative by Google and is priced at Rs 15,999.

Nokia 6.1 Plus, as you may have guessed already, is a ‘notch’ up from the Nokia 6.1 that is already there in India. For Rs 15,999 you get a larger screen, more powerful processor, more cameras and better battery on paper. It also may be an incremental upgrade for some and not so worth it for others. So here’s our review of the the Nokia 6.1 Plus where we try to answer if it manages to make competitors crumble under its relentless pressure. Read our review and find out.

Design

Nokia 6.1 Plus is lighter than what we thought it would be. It easy to pull it out of your pockets and use it with just one hand. This in addition to a compact form factor delivers a good in-hand feel. It is not as long as Galaxy S series flagships nor is it as broad as Vivo Nex. Hence, it manages to deliver a neatly packed powerhouse that looks good.

What you get in terms of looks with the Nokia 6.1 Plus is an all-screen front, which we have seen enough in the market this year. The ‘notch’ unsurprisingly includes a speaker and a front-facing camera. There’s also a small chin below the screen, which shouldn’t be an issue for anyone per se.

The back panel design is what makes it different from others. If you like to keep your smartphone looking clean and shiny, the 6.1 Plus might not be your first choice. It has a shiny and highly reflective glass back that is not just a fingerprint and smudge magnet but is also prone to minor scratches (specially corners) over time. We are talking about the Gloss Black colour variant which we got for reviewing. The Gloss White and Gloss Midnight Blue might be better in hiding the scratches and fingerprints maybe.

Nonetheless, a clean Nokia 6.1 Plus definitely looks attractive. The dual rear cameras are at the centre inside a capsule-shaped casing while the fingerprint sensor is below them and the ‘Android One’ branding can be seen below. What could be be a minor issue here is that one would need to fiddle at the back to recognise where the fingerprint sensor is located, resulting in unwanted smudges and fingerprints.

The sides are not glossy though as they have a dull metal coating. It doesn’t appear bad at all and actually adds to the overall look. On the right side you get the volume and power buttons and the hybrid SIM card slot is on the left. On top is the 3.5mm headphone jack and the USB Type-C charging port with a mono speaker is at the bottom. Although there’s no flaw to be seen anywhere, it would’ve been appreciable if the volume controllers were on the left or were slightly more away from the power button as we did end up pressing the wrong button at times.

But all-in-all, the Nokia 6.1 Plus does look impressive and might as well be the most beautiful looking handset in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment.

Display

HMD Global has made sure Nokia 6.1 Plus customers won’t have any complaints in the display department when it comes to specs. It has a 5.8-inch full HD+ (2280x1080 pixels) with 19:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Although the ‘notch’ remains controversial and may not be a thumbs-up for everyone, it does show that HMD Global can keep up with the market trends and is giving customers more options to choose from. The notch also paves way for more screen to body ratio in a Nokia smartphone than ever.

The smartphone has a 2.5D curved screen which is prone to scratches but then you also get Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection so careful usage shouldn’t harm the display in any way.

You don’t get many software-based features for tweaking the display settings in the smartphone though. All you have is Adaptive brightness, Ambient display and Tap to wake features among other basic ones. Also, there is no option to optimise apps for full screen. In most of the games and streaming apps you will see Nokia 6.1 Plus hiding the ‘notch’ by blacking out the entire bar from left to right. Not that it would affect you a lot, it sure is one of the down sides.

But then again, looking at the price point it doesn’t seem so bad. The brightness levels are average and the colours are good to look at.

Performance

Nokia 6.1 Plus takes all it’s processing power from Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, which is not bad per se but is also not the best. For tasks like streaming videos, working on documents and even playing heavy games, for instance, Asphalt 9 Legends the smartphone works well for the most of the times. At times however, we did not some frames being skipped while playing games. The handset uses Adreno 509 GPU to crunch all the graphics and animations in apps.

Regular users won’t get a chance to complain though. The processor when clubbed with 4GB RAM, manage to handle most of the work thrown at them with ease. There is no stuttering or hiccups anywhere as jumping in between apps is usually a breeze. Some may feel a slight delay in firing up apps but then again, it’s not that big of an issue.

Pure Android fans will love the Nokia 6.1 Plus. Like the rest of the line up of 2018, this device also falls under Google’s Android One initiative so you get a bloat-free handset with basic Google-branded apps. Since there are no flashy new features or unwanted apps out of the box, the space taken by the OS version on the handset is also lesser than others. Around 12GB is reserved for the OS out of 64GB, leaving you approximately 52.8GB to save your apps and other data. Like we mentioned above, the smartphone support microSD card so storage won’t be an issue for users.

You do get all the basic features on board including fingerprint sensor, storage manager, double tap to wake among others. The interface is real easy to use and has fluid animations so that’s another factor worth appreciating. A plus factor here is faster and quicker OS updates. HMD Global has been no its toes with updates so we are expecting Android 9.0 Pie update for this handset in future.

Camera

Nokia smartphones are not really known for their cameras – at least not the ones in the budget segment. The last handset that we found did wonders in the camera department was the Nokia 7 Plus. But with the new Nokia 6.1 Plus, the focus seems to be back on the cameras. The handset is not just being marketed for its shooting performance but also ‘AI enhancements’ which aims to make end results better.

The smartphone comprises of two rear cameras instead of just one seen in the 6.1 Plus. While the first camera sporting 16MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture stays the same, the additional 5MP camera aims to shoot better portrait shots with f/2.4 aperture and 1.12-micron pixel size. According to us that’s not a bad combination at all as the images clicked are well balanced and should be good enough for most of those Instagram uploaders. The images are naturally sharp to look at on a small screen but on zooming in one can see the images slightly smoothened, even in well-lit situations. The colours are punchy, giving life to the end image. You’ll get the Auto HDR mode switched on by default and its not bad to keep it like that.

What’s appreciable is that the shutter is snappy in most cases but on the downside, autofocus takes its own time to shift in between subjects. However, you always have the option to tap on the subject to eliminate the extra time taken to locate the subject and bring it in focus.

The portrait (or Live Bokeh) images are well shot with the Noia 6.1 Plus. They’re not the best but are still better than some in the given price segment. It is more of a hit or miss tech than a sure shot confirmation to get a proper depth effect with the entire subject in focus. Also, the bokeh editor is somewhat hidden. You would have to tap on the edit option to see the bokeh editing feature. Nonetheless, you can still find the Live Bokeh option on the left side along with other feature icons.

The front-facing camera turned out to be better than what we expected. The smartphone uses a 16MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture and 1.0-micron pixel size. So even in low light situations the resulting images are not bad at all. The camera is snappy and supports Portrait mode as well.

Like we said above, the entire subject is often not in focus and it shows at the edges but then they are good enough to go on your social media. However, you do get features like picture-in-picture mode, Auto HDR and flash and more that should satisfy most of the selfie lovers. The Bokeh mode for the front-facing camera also does a decent job in recognising the subject and applying the blur effect. Although the smartphone misses out on features like OIS and EIS, it does use the gyroscope to stabilise the jerks. You could, however, see the video jittering most of the times. You won’t get a slew of features for video recording but some of the essential such as Time Lapse and Slow Motion exist. The handset is not the best when it comes to recording slow motion though.

Like with the Nokia 6.1, you get the 4K video recording in 6.1 Plus as well along with other options including HD and full HD with 18:9 aspect ratio recording for each.

Battery

Nokia 6.1 Plus is an average performer when comes to battery life. In our daily usage, which included nearly everything from streaming audio over Bluetooth to playing games, editing videos, browsing in social media apps, chatting and working on a couple of documents, the smartphone managed to last for around seven hours. If you are spending over 2-3 hours on gaming on this device, then you may have to carry a portable charger with you. The smartphone is backed by a 3060mAh battery, which is a generous capacity for a smartphone falling under the Rs 20,000 price segment. On a regular use, which is of course not as much as what we used, the handset might as well last you for 8-9 hours.

In case you want to get few more hours of juice from the device, you can turn on the battery saver that naturally cuts the animations and other apps running in the background. Other features like ambient display and adaptive brightness can also be switched off for few more hours. Since the usage varies from customer to customer, the battery level and the screen on time will also change. We got around 5 hours of screen on time on an average, which is not bad. The Nokia 6.1 Plus also supports fast charging tech, so it’s all good.

Verdict

Nokia 6.1 Plus no doubt seems like a near-complete smartphone when you look at it with the Rs 15,999 price tag. It is not just amidst one of the most competitive smartphone markets in the country but is also HMD Global’s one of the first attempts towards a smartphone with lesser bezels and more screen to body ratio. So as a first attempt the handset is not bad at all.

The smartphone has almost all the basic features on board along with pure Android experience, which brings it directly face to face against the fairly new Xiaomi Mi A2 smartphone. However, if you look at it as a standalone device, you get everything from a 19:9 aspect ratio screen, compact form factor, decent cameras, good battery life and external storage support. Android 9.0 Pie should come as a cherry on top if nothing else.

We are impressed with the handset and would recommend it straight away if you are looking for a pure Android smartphone that is not Xiaomi or Motorola. But with the above offering and the company’s active status in the OS update program, the Nokia 6.1 Plus for sure is a ‘notch’ above others for the time being.

Brilliant build quality for the price. Camera can do better in low light but thats a software thing which can be worked on or user can install alternative camera app. other wise overall awesome phone great performance.